Sunday, 16 March 2014

Often sited as one of the
greatest horror films of the silent era, The
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is a 1920 German movie and a prime example of
German Expressionism. Written by first time screenwriters Hans Janowitz and
Carl Mayer, the script is generally considered to feature the first twist
ending in cinematic history. The main thrust of the story is presented in
flashback in which a young man called Francis (Friedrich Fehér) recounts a
series of terrible murders that took place in the small town of Holstenwall. His story
speaks of a Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss) who, at a local fair, unveils a
fortune telling somnambulist (sleep-walker) whom he is able to control using
hypnosis. When murder strikes the small town, the finger is pointed at Caligari
and his attraction.

This movie is one which I’ve
wanted to see for several years and heard nothing but good things about. It’s
with regret then that I have to report that I was often bored by the story.
Ending aside, I found it dull and was too often confused by developments. I’m
certainly going to pin some of the blame on a poor quality DVD which I bought
from the normally reputable Fopp but
even seeing through this, I didn’t fall in love with the film. Despite my lack
of enjoyment with regards to the plot, the film has much to offer even the most
casual film buff.

Sunday, 2 February 2014

February 2nd 1914,
exactly one hundred years ago today saw the launch of one of the most
successful Hollywood careers in history. On
this day a century ago, a twenty-four year old Englishman called Charles
Spencer Chaplin made his screen debut in a one reel Keystone comedy called Making a Living. Eighteen months later
he would arguably become the most famous entertainer on the planet and by his
late twenties he was the richest. Being a man for whom Chaplin has a special
place in my heart, not to mention a permanent inked place on my arm, today is
something special for me and to celebrate I decided to watch his first film
exactly a century after its initial release.

Although I’ve reviewed over forty
of Chaplin’s films in the past two years on this blog, Making a Living was one that I had never seen. In a way I’m glad
that today was the first time I’d seen the short film as there’s something
interesting about seeing it for the very first time exactly a hundred years
after it was first exhibited. Chaplin plays a charming swindler called Edgar
English having not adopted his iconic Tramp costume and persona until his
second film, Kid Auto Races at Venice.
During the thirteen minute runtime, English has frequent run-ins with Henry
Lehrman’s reporter and eventually falls foul of the Keystone Kops, leading to a
chaotic and slightly confusing conclusion.

Sunday, 5 January 2014

Un Chien Andalou is a short, silent surrealist film from 1929. It
was the debut film of Luis Buñuel and was written by Buñuel and fellow
surrealist Salvador Dalí. The film features no discernable narrative in the
traditional sense but rather dream logic, seemingly popping from one scene to
another, often with tenuous links. Lasting only around sixteen minutes, it
nonetheless crams in many eye catching (and eye slitting) images, some of which
have passed into the collective consciousness. Describing the plot is near
impossible as it weaves in and out of normality and plausibility with no regard
for sense or building upon what comes before. Perhaps best described as a
series of vignettes or windows into the minds of the men behind the film, it’s
sometimes a frustrating watch but is notable for its striking imagery and skilled
production.

Wednesday, 27 November 2013

Sometimes it only takes a few
frames to realise that you’re in for a treat. This was the case for me with
Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 masterpiece The
Passion of Joan of Arc. It is however a film that I’d put off watching for
a long time. Despite my interest in silent cinema and all the great things I’d read
and heard, there was something about what little I knew of the film that put me
off. Perhaps it was the subject matter (more on that later) or the idea that it
would be a depressing and/or dull watch but either way it took a good five
years from my first whiff of the film to actually sitting down to watch it.
What a silly boy I was for those five years. Like many other renowned films
that I’d put off viewing it is of course a superb movie that features some of
the best acting, editing and camera placement I’ve ever seen.

The film tells of the
imprisonment, trial and (spoiler) execution of Joan of Arc (Noah’s wife) who
claimed divine guidance and lead France to several important military victories
during the Hundred Year’s War before being captured by the English and tried
for heresy, all by the age of nineteen. The film draws on the five hundred year
old transcripts of the trial and indeed original documents form the basis of the
script.

Saturday, 20 July 2013

In the late 1920s film stars,
directors and producers faced a dilemma. 1927’s The Jazz Singer had opened the world’s eyes and ears to the
talkies; movies with sound and the revolution had taken off quickly, brushing
former silent stars aside and ushering in a new era of spoken dialogue.
Arguably the biggest star of the silent era was Charlie Chaplin. His films had
been hugely popular in every corner of the globe, from London
and Los Angeles to Leningrad
and Lahore. His
universality came not only from his popular and identifiable Tramp character
but because people from any country could understand the language of the film. Each film’s themes and jokes worked in any
language and were loved by all.

It was because of The Tramp’s
universality as a silent character that caused Chaplin to shun the talkies for
a decade after they first became the norm. City
Lights was his first film produced after The Jazz Singer and he stuck to his guns, despite outside
influence, and kept The Tramp silent. The movie’s opening scene gently mocks
the new medium at a statue unveiling. The City Mayor proudly strides to a
podium to dedicate a new statue and when he speaks an amusing Donald Duck type
noise is emitted from his mouth. His lady wife then takes the stand with similar,
higher pitched results. To me this is Chaplin’s way of proving his point to the
English speaking world. We can’t understand what the characters are saying so
how would his fans in France,
Russia or Brazil
understand him if he spoke? With this opening scene we not only have our first
laugh but also a taste of an ever maturing Chaplin, a man who isn’t afraid to
express his opinions on screen.

Sunday, 2 June 2013

F.W. Murnau’s 1930 film City Girl was the third of just four
that the German cinematic pioneer made in Hollywood.
With 1928’s 4 Devils among the
thousands of lost films from the period, we only have three left from the
Director who in his home land made such iconic movies as Nosferatu and The Last Laugh.
City Girl shares many themes with his
masterpiece Sunrise in that it is about love and the
struggle between rural life and urbanisation.

Lem Tustine (Charles Farrell) is
sent from his Minnesota farm to Chicago by his
overbearing father to sell their wheat crop. While in the big city, the country
boy meets and falls in love with a city waitress called Kate (Mary Duncan). Lem
sells the family crop, but for a lower price than his father desired and brings
his new bride back to the farm to meet his parents. Kate soon discovers that
life in the country isn’t all she expected it to be and with leering men much
the same as in the city and a father-in-law who distrusts her, she begins to
think she’s made a huge mistake.

Friday, 4 January 2013

Arriving on the back of his first great film The Kid, Charlie Chaplin’s The Idle Class feels weak and thin in
comparison. The writer in Chaplin was struggling for ideas before he got the
spark for The Kid and it almost feels
as though he is back to square one while writing the two reel The Idle Class. A Tramp (Chaplin) gets
off a train, and not how you’d expect him to, before heading for a day at the golf
course. Meanwhile a wealthy wife (Edna Purviance) also disembarks expecting her
well to do husband (also Chaplin) to meet her at the station but he is drunk at
home. Following some hi jinks at the golf course there is a case of mistaken
identity at a ball at which Edna takes the Tramp for her husband.

For me The Idle Class
lacks the depth which made The Kid
great and also lacks the direction and laughs that are found in the likes of A Dog's Life or Shoulder Arms. It occasionally takes a more dramatic route but this
often fails to match even Sunnyside
for dramatic narrative. The film is saved by a middle act on the golf course
which is brilliantly inventive and funny but is unfortunately bookended by a
beginning and end which did little for me.

Tuesday, 1 January 2013

Rescued by Rover
is a 1905 film which along with the likes of The Great Train Robbery(1903) helped to bridge the gap between
films that were a mere curiosity or fairground attraction towards the narrative
structure which dominated the following century and continues today. The film
makes use of the recent invention of the cut or edit to slice together the
action surrounding a baby which is kidnapped by a beggar woman. It mostly
follows a dog as it seeks out the missing child to alert its owner, the baby’s
father. Although by today’s standards the plot is fairly predictable and quite
repetitive, for the time it was groundbreaking. Just five years earlier the
Hepworth Manufacturing Company was producing films which although interesting
were single shot amusements, now in 1905 they had produced a proper narrative
film which is much more coherent than any contemporary film I’ve seen so far.

There are several areas in which this film is inventive or pioneering.
The first is perhaps the most important. Rescued
by Rover was the first film to ever feature paid actors. Before this time
roles were filled by the crew, friends or sometimes passers by. Here though two
actors, one of which was May Clark, are employed in a cast which also features Director Cecil Hepworth’s
wife, child, dog as well as himself. The film is also noted as being the first
to create an animal star. The dog, Blair, became famous for several years
following the film’s release and is also one of the best trained I’ve seen on
screen.

Sunday, 9 December 2012

Undoubtedly Chaplin’s finest film of the period and one of
the highlights of his long career, The
Kid was not only his first feature film but also in my opinion his first
great work. Produced at a difficult time in the star’s life, The Kid is the first of several Chaplin
films which perfectly balanced comedy, drama and pathos. His previous films had
often contained at least one of these elements and earlier films such as A Dog's Life and The Immigrant had provided at least two, but for the first time in
1921, despite personal tragedy and pressure from his studio, Chaplin created
his first true masterpiece.

Production began in 1919 just ten days after the death of
Chaplin’s baby son Norman. Chaplin, who had been struggling creatively, was
instantly hit with an idea that was to become The Kid. As his Tramp character Chaplin finds a baby who has been
abandoned by a poor single mother (Edna Purviance). The Tramp ends up raising
the child alone and when he is around six or seven the child (Jackie Coogan)
helps his adoptive father in his window repair business. The father follows the
boy around town as the boy breaks windows. Soon after being smashed, the man
turns up to repair them. All is well until the boy falls sick and a Doctor
realises the Tramp is not the natural father. Soon after Social Services arrive
to take the boy from the man in what is one of the most gut wrenchingly moving scenes
in cinema history.

Wednesday, 14 November 2012

When a workshy farmhand (Charlie Chaplin) misplaces a herd
of cows the local town of Sunnyside
suffers the consequences. The young farmhand has even more trouble on his hands
when a well to do city boy (Tom Terriss) arrives in town and has his eyes
firmly set on the hand’s girl (Edna Purviance). Chaplin’s forth film for First National was preceded by the hugely successful Shoulder Arms and proved to be one of his least successful of the
period. Despite this the film holds up fairly well today and has a first act
which is of some note. Unfortunately though the film misses a step with the
introduction of the romantic plot from which it never truly recovers.

The first thing I noticed about the film is that unlike
almost every Chaplin film to come before, there was an actor on second billing.
Most of Chaplin’s early title cards read something along the line of “Charles
Chaplin in…” or “….. with Charlie Chaplin” but Sunnyside reads “Charlie Chaplin in Sunnyside with Edna Purviance”.
I don’t recall seeing another actor’s name so prominently placed on a title
card before this film and it perhaps shows Chaplin’s ever increasing belief in
his leading lady as an actress. As it turns out, Purviance’s role isn’t really
much larger than in the likes of Burlesque on Carmen, The Vagabond or A Dog's Life but it feels like she is the focus of attention for a larger part of
the film.

Saturday, 3 November 2012

Set partly amongst the trenches of the First World War, Shoulder Arms was a bold film for
Charlie Chaplin to make in 1918 given the wide reaching criticism he received
for failing to sign up to fight. He was advised by close friends to abandon the
film for something less controversial but Charlie battled on and despite the
possible outrage and backlash the film became Chaplin’s most critically
acclaimed and financially successful film up to that point, was particularly
popular with returning Doughboys and features a couple of scenes which may well
be recognisable to people who have never even seen a full Chaplin film.

Charlie plays a young recruit who is sent over to France to join
the war. Despite typical problems to begin with he soon discovers that he is a
more than competent soldier and after numerous brave exploits ends up in the
house of a French woman (Edna Purviance) who tends to his wounds. With the help
of his new love and a dear friend from the trenches, Chaplin ends up winning
the war for the allies. Or does he?

Sunday, 21 October 2012

A half reel propaganda film, funded by and starring Charlie
Chaplin, The Bond is a unique film in
Chaplin’s cannon in that it is the only film he ever made to be filmed in front
of a plain black set. There are just a few dimly lit props littered around the
stage alongside the actors, Chaplin regulars Edna Purviance, Albert Austin and
Sydney Chaplin. The film depicts several sketches along the theme of bonds,
from friendship to marriage to the most important, Liberty Bonds.

Though not in the least bit funny the film is still an
interesting watch and Chaplin’s simple to understand depiction of what Bonds
actually did would have been seen by millions of people across the world. In a
very simple sketch Chaplin offers up his savings to Uncle Sam who in turn gives
it to Industry who finally furnishes soldiers with rifles. The idea is simple
and easy to understand despite the lack of dialogue. In the final scene,
Chaplin uses a large hammer with the words Liberty Bonds engraved on the side
to smash the Kaiser into submission, thereby further expressing the idea of the
difference the bonds can make.

Monday, 15 October 2012

Charlie Chaplin’s first short for First National Pictures
was released in April 1918, six months after his final film for Mutual. Chaplin
in his Tramp character befriends a local mongrel dog called Scraps and together
they go about causing mischief and mayhem. Later, Scraps comes to the aid of
the Tramp when he gets into trouble with some thugs and helps his master set up
a new life for himself and his new lady friend, a bar singer (Edna Purviance).

What was immediately obvious about this opening First National film was its quality. The sets, costume and story are all far superior
to pretty much anything seen in a Chaplin film before. The sets especially look
as though they may well have been real streets. There is a much more rounded
story which incorporates comedy as one aspect rather than relying solely on
kicks up the backside or doffing caps to curbs. The film is still funny but
this isn’t one of Chaplin’s finest works. What it is though is one of his
finest stories to date and overall one of his best short films.

Sunday, 30 September 2012

Charlie Chaplin as his Tramp character is asleep outside a Mission, close to the
danger filled and lawless Easy Street. After being partially reformed by the Mission where he meets a
beautiful young woman (Edna Purviance), the Tramp decides to join the Police
and is immediately sent out on the beat to Easy Street, a road from where
Police return battered and bruised. Through luck and wit the new Policeman
tries to reform the street and return it to the local residents.

Comedy wise this is probably the most disappointing of
Chaplin’s Mutual Films that I’ve seen so far. In the entire film I only laughed
out loud once and generally there were very few funny moments anywhere. What the
film does contain though is another tender story about overcoming the odds,
hard work, temperance and love which is something that Chaplin was becoming the
master of at this stage of his career.

Saturday, 8 September 2012

Behind the Screen stars
Charlie Chaplin as a stagehand on a movie set. Chaplin is overworked and
underappreciated and his boss (Eric Campbell) spends most of the time asleep,
leaving Chaplin to do the heavy lifting. Meanwhile a young woman (Edna
Purviance) is trying to get her big break as an actress but is turned down so
dresses up as a male stagehand in order to have at least some involvement in
the movies. At the same time the fellow stagehands go on strike for being woken
up by a studio boss and plot their revenge…

This isn’t one of the funniest Mutual shorts but it
certainly has one of the better plots up to this point. It’s multilayered and features side plot
as well as the main narrative. It is also an opportunity to see behind the
scenes of an early movie set in much the same way as His New Job, Chaplin’s first film for Essanay a year earlier. What
the film is most famous for now though is its forthright joke about
homosexuality, a subject which was barely mentioned in cinema for another fifty
years.

Wednesday, 5 September 2012

Charlie Chaplin’s sixth film for Mutual is one with very
high highs and disappointingly low lows. It features a scenario and story which
doesn’t really go anywhere but also features several moments of slapstick that
are amongst his best to date.

Chaplin stars as a pawnshop assistant and gets in a long
running fight with fellow employee John Rand. Typically inept at his job,
Chaplin is eventually fired only to be taken back on straight away after his
boss Henry Bergman has a change of heart. Meanwhile Chaplin’s attentions are
drawn to Bergman’s daughter Edna Purviance who is busy baking in the back of
the shop. Trouble appears late on as a thief, Eric Campbell enters the shop
intent on taking it for everything it’s got.

Monday, 3 September 2012

Charlie Chaplin’s fifth film for Mutual is a somewhat simpler
film than its immediate predecessors The
Vagabond and One A.M. and is more
reminiscent of his Essanay work, albeit it more sophisticated and slightly
funnier. Chaplin plays an inept Tailor’s assistant who gets fired for burning a
Count’s trousers. His boss (Eric Campbell) finds an invitation to a party at
the house of Miss Moneybags (Edna Purviance) and decides to impersonate the
rich Count in order to marry the attractive, rich girl. Chaplin is also at the
party having snuck in through the back door and beats Campbell to the impersonation. All hell
breaks lose though when the real Count arrives, along with the Police to chase
out the imposters.

The Count features
lots of funny moments but lacks the knockout blow of the likes of One A.M. or The Bank. It’s testament to the quality of Chaplin’s Mutual films
that I felt disappointed by The Count even
though it is far superior to a lot of his Essanay films.

Saturday, 25 August 2012

A Musician-Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) leaves town following a
chase to find himself in a gypsy camp. There he finds a poor abducted girl
(Edna Purviance) who he attempts to cheer up with his music. Having witnessed a
savage beating of the girl by the gypsy chieftain (Eric Campbell), the Tramp
goes about saving the girl and setting her free. While attempting to woo her, a
handsome artist chances by and has Edna sit for a portrait. The portrait
attracts the attention of Edna’s estranged family who attempt to take her away
from the Tramp for good.

I honestly can’t think of a single Chaplin film during which
I’ve laughed so little but on this occasion that is not a negative statement.
Here Chaplin provides plenty of his trademark pathos and creates a film which
is much more of a romantic drama than romantic comedy or slapstick comedy.

Tuesday, 14 August 2012

A Fire Chief (Eric Campbell) is approached by a man (Lloyd
Bacon) who asks that the Fire Department ignores a fire at his house so that he
may collect the insurance money. The man insures that his daughter (Edna
Purviance) is out during the fire so remains unharmed. The woman is not out
though when an arsonist sets the property alight and she gets trapped upstairs.
Meanwhile the Firemen which include accident prone Charlie Chaplin are at another
house, putting out a fire. When the man realises his daughter is trapped he
searches for them, finding Chaplin who attempts to save the day and win the
woman’s heart.

Amazingly The Fireman was
Chaplin’s 52nd film but was released in June 1916. Despite his age
and lack of years in the industry he was by now a pro and it shows here with
clever gags and a nice central idea. Unfortunately the film suffers from a
similar problem as The Floorwalkerin
that it just isn’t quite funny enough.

Monday, 13 August 2012

After a hugely successful but tense year making films for
The Essanay Film and Manufacturing Company, Charlie Chaplin decided to look
elsewhere when his contract came to an end. Despite several offers from larger
studios, Chaplin under the advice of his elder brother and Business Manager
Sydney signed with The Mutual Film Corporation on February 26th 1916
for a world record breaking wage of $10,000 a week plus a signing bonus of
$150,000. This was ten times his already substantial Essanay salary of $1,250
per week. The contract made Chaplin the highest earning employee in history and
also stipulated complete artistic control over his films as well as a custom
made studio. The aptly named Lone Star Studio was where Chaplin was to produce
his twelve two-reel comedies for Mutual over the next twelve months. Chaplin
later wrote in his autobiography that those twelve months were amongst the
happiest of his career.

Although Chaplin was starting fresh with Mutual he did bring
along some of his stock actors from Essanay and the likes of Leo White, John
Rand and long time leading lady Edna Purviance joined him at the studio. In
addition to these regulars Chaplin also hired a new group to work with him
during his time at Mutual. Eric Campbell, Albert Austin and Charlotte Mineau
joined a much larger group of regular actors as Chaplin’s films grew in scale.

In addition to writing, directing and starring in his films,
Chaplin also began producing his movies with Mutual and went on to produce almost
all of his subsequent films. The first three were co-written with his behind
the scenes collaborator Vincent Bryan but Chaplin maintained sole writing and
directing credit for the remaining Mutual comedies.

As with Chaplin’s Essanay films, I’ll be watching each one
and posting a review on the blog plus a link to each one below.